


Broken Sapphires

by Mels13



Category: Captive Prince - C. S. Pacat
Genre: Angst and Hurt/Comfort, Canon-Typical Violence, Hurt No Comfort, M/M, Nicaise being a little bitch, Past Abuse, like its there but not really
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-08-06
Updated: 2018-08-06
Packaged: 2019-06-22 13:51:45
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,467
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15583380
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Mels13/pseuds/Mels13
Summary: Do the choices we make decide our fate?Laurent regrets a choice he made early in the series, Nicaise is there to call him out on it.Aka my very angst fill take on an almost Nicaise lives fic.





	Broken Sapphires

Laurent sat on his throne, King Damianos next to him lounging after a long day of pointless meetings. He turned to the servant standing near him.

“We will hear two more concerns this evening before we retire, give anyone else accommodations if they have nowhere else to stay and we will see to their matters tomorrow.” The servant nodded then quickly left to do as he was bidden. 

Laurent’s attention swung back to the matter at hand. The poor farmer in front of him was speaking in a deep southern Akielon dialect and Laurent was having a hard time translating a few words. His mind was elsewhere and he gave up trying to follow the conversation as his eyes drifted aside to the open archways that were letting in the breeze. 

Something in the air made Laurent anxious as if a storm was coming. The feeling didn’t last long as his husband’s voice boomed beside him, giving the farmer a plan of action and how the royal estate could see to the man's ever many apparent problems.

Laurent thought it silly that in Akielos commoners could speak to their kings directly. That is if they had already talked to the Kyros of the land. People could petition the king if they felt that their problem had not been dealt with to their satisfaction. Good in theory but Laurent found it boring and tedious in reality. 

Laurent found himself stifling a yawn just was Damen let out one unabashedly next to him. 

Damen dismissed the man then turned to Laurent. “How many more today?”

“Two.”

Laurent watched as Damen drugged his hands over his face then turned his attention back forward as a new person approached the dais to seek council with the Kings.

Most of these meetings were held without the council or the Kyros, for whom of which most of the people who came to speak were complaining about. The large hall was sparsely filled beside them, the scribe who recorded the events, the gourds and their own personal servants who helped the proceeding happen smoothly. 

After a few minutes of this, a small commotion could be heard in the hall just outside. The servant came back up and addressed Laurent directly. Laurent gave him his full attention, barely noticing that Damen had held up a hand to pause the current conversation.

“Speak, what is the issue?”

“There is a man outside demanding to speak with you, your Majesty. He says he won't leave till he talks to you. He also demands that you two talk in private. One of the guards searched him and found no weapons or poison. He told me to give you this when I asked for his name.” A long sapphire earring dropped into Laurent’s hand “He then said and I quote Laurent knows who I am and I don’t want that ‘profanity’ slave in my presence when I speak to him.” 

Laurent could feel the tension roll off Damen at being referred to as a slave again. Whoever was out there was powerful and Laurent couldn't place who it would be. First, they would have to of been in Arles when Damen was a slave. Second, sneaky enough to bypass his guards into Laurent’s shared chambers and find the one piece of jewelry that Laurent held dear but never wore. Third, stupid enough to demand royal attention when the spy could have revealed themselves at any moment.

Laurent inspected Nicaise’s earring one more time then it struck him, this wasn't his earing from in his room, this was the missing match. Laurent’s had been damaged in one of his fights with Damen more than a year ago. This one still showed its age in the tarnished silver but the large stoned was unscratched and unbroken. Someone stole this from Nicaise’s jewelry box before the Regent could gift it to his new child pet. Laurent wondered, who was beyond the door?

Laurent’s head snapped up after a long drawn out silence. Damen had kept everyone from speaking as Laurent thought about what to do.

“Damianos clear the hall and wait outside the main door for my signal.” Damen stood and wordlessly motioned for Laurents orders to be followed. 

Laurent then turned and spoke loudly. “Let the man in.”

Adorned in simple brown shirt and black pants stood the man that haunted Laurent’s worse regret. 

Nicaise stepped into the hall like he owned it, just like he would have in the halls of Arles. He turned to Damen who was also stunned at recognizing his face. 

“Nicaise?” Damen’s one word echoed in the hall.

Nicaise turned and spat at him. “I can’t believe it, the ugly slave has grown stupider since the last time I’ve seen him.” 

Damen’s guard flew to attention as Laurents old prince’s guard still stood frozen at seeing the dead man walking. 

“Did I not make my demands clear. I wanted a private audience with Laurent. I never wanted to see your face ever again slave.”

Laurent stood. “Clear the hall.” 

He looked at the concern in Damen’s eyes and slowly nodded as he closed the door behind everyone exiting.

“So the only people good enough for the cast iron bitch’s cock are those who have killed your family? First, your uncle who killed your father now it’s your slave who killed your beloved brother. Pity there is no one left for me to kill so I could find myself in your bed. You should have bought my contract while you still had the chance.”

Laurent tried to cool all emotions from his face but Nicaise could still read him too well and took advantage of Laurent’s silence and loss for words as he walked closer to Laurent. At first, his face looked happy and plump still childish in his young nature. And now Nicaise had crossed the hall and was in front of Laurent. It was enough time for Laurent to overlook all of Nicaise. He had had one of his growth spurts and was taller than when Laurent has last seen him. Laurent has left a child at Arles and now a young man stood in his place. 

“I know you are wondering it so I’ll spare you from asking. How did I live? Who's head was given to you in my stead? Why come now after so long absent? I found a sculpture artist. She worked in wax. With enough jewelry, I paid and planned my own execution. Regent didn’t kill me but yet found me lying dead, slit my own writs. But instead, a true physician, not that stupid Paschal, drained me of my blood to near death using leeches. Then after we replaced my body with the wax one, I don’t even think the Regent looked at me again once I was dead. He just ordered that my already dead head be sent to you as a warning to follow his orders like the good little pet he had raised you to be.   
“The guards liked me cuz I could suck cock and never told him the truth. And they knew that if they did, he would kill them anyway. Best for everyone to keep it hush-hush don’t you think?” Nicaise smiled a wide Cheshire grin at him.

Almost as Nicaise spoke he seemed to age and change before Laurent’s eyes. Poverty and puberty had not treated Nicaise well. Long lanky and slender from malnutrition, Nicaise looked like a walking skeleton his skin wrapped tight along his bones and faint muscles. His cheeks hollow and his eyes sunken in, no longer beautiful as he was promised in his youth. 

“Nicaise-”

“Oh, now the Mighty Laurent speaks.”

“I thought you were dead.”

Nicaise yelled “I am dead! I died the second you left me at Arles. The moment you left me alone with the Regent.” 

Laurent moved forward to touch Nicasie but his hand was smacked away as the man pulled back

“Don’t touch me you filthy slut!”

Laurent recoiled, Nicaise had never been this angry at him ever.

“You chose to defend your slave's giant cock over my life. You knew when you agreed to border duty that Uncle would kill us both, you could have taken me with you, you could have protected me. I thought you loved me! You left me there to die, alone.”

Nicaise face was red with anger as he screamed at him. Laurents mind was full of all the promises he made to Nicaise, how he promised that one day they would both be free of his uncle. No longer was he standing in the throne room but they were suddenly back in the Regents red draped room of Arles. Nicaise had grown smaller and was suddenly the 10 year old boy which whom he had just meet.

“In the end, you were just like him. You used me just like he did. And the worst part of it all is that after a while I started to actually believe that you loved me more then he did. I was a fool for trusting him but I was just plain suicidal for trusting you. Your betrayal hurt more than when he drove the sword through my neck.”

Laurents' eyes were clouding with tears as the truth of Nicaise’s words truly hit him. He turned away and refused to look at the child in front of him.

“Look at me, Laurent! Look at what you did to me!” Laurent turned and no longer was the boy in front of him but the severed head that had rolled out of the burlap sack. His rotting body bleeding out and mixing with the soft red carpet. 

“I put my life in your hands, Laurent. And you killed me. Not the sword that swung down, or the Regents hands upon it. But you and your actions killed me.” 

Laurent closed his eyes and fell into a heap on the floor trying like a child to block out this nightmare. He had done this many times on this floor when the sight of Damianos killing Auguste rehashed in his dreams. Even Uncle was there spilling his vile words alongside Nicaise’s.

“Laurent it’s all your fault, You have done this to yourself. If only you had obeyed me then this wouldn’t have happened.” 

Nicaise’s voice rang loud through the room and penetrated Laurent’s covered ears, even with his eyes closed Laurent could still see Nicaise’s severed head yelling at him. He could hear Uncle’s condescending words trying to comfort him in mockery. He could even feel his hand rubbing his back. 

“Was ending my life really worth ending his? Think about everyone else who died because you refused too."

“YOU KILLED ME LAURENT! YOU PROMISED YOU WOULD SAVE ME! AND YET I LAY ROTTING IN THE GROUND BECAUSE OF YOU!” 

"Laurent, you were never meant to be king. Everyone in the nation has suffered under your hand.”

Laurent yelled and screamed back in choking sobs rack his body. “I killed you Nicaise. I'm sorry. It’s all my fault. If I had just let him kill me as planned you could have lived.” Laurent started to whisper and mumble between sobs “I’m sorry, I’m so sorry Nicaise, I failed to save you. I failed to save everyone except myself. I’m sorry, I’m so sorry Nicaise.”

“Laurent!” Nicaise had yelled one final time before Laurent felt as Uncle’s hand on his shoulder started to violently shake him. The hand grew bigger and Laurent recognized the touch as Damens and his soft voice replaced the high wail of Nicaise’s.

“Laurent come back to me. You’re dreaming. You are safe.” 

Laurent opened his eyes to meet Damen’s “There you go love. You are safe in our chambers not where ever you were.” 

Damen had stopped touching Laurent. This was their normal procedure for when Damen had to wake Laurent from a dream. Just after waking, he can’t always tell reality from the dreamscape. Everything always seems so real. Laurent truly believed that it was tomorrow in his dream and that Nicaise had shown up alive. 

Laurents emotions were still so fresh. The relief that Nicaise was smart enough to get away and fake his death. The joy at seeing him alive. Then the slow truth of Nicaise’s words hit Laurent as did the feeling of being back in his Uncle’s room.

Laurent looked at Damen, sitting beside Laurent in their bed. The only light reflected off the pool in the gardens below shimmering off the white ceiling. He had to know if this was real or just another dream. 

Laurent didn’t know. This could be the afterlife had Nicaise’s ghost really have killed him. 

Damen leaned in and planted a small kiss on Laurents' lips. “Come back to me love. Tell me whats wrong.”

Laurent shook his head. “Just kiss me.”  
Laurent found himself kissing Damen like the world was ending. For Laurent, it may as well have been. 

Tears streamed down Laurent’s face as Damen just held him close and let him cry. He had selfishly chosen this over everything. This man, this love, his kisses. He had chosen Damen over his own life at one point. He didn’t regret that choice. But now he regrets something further back. 

Leaving Nicaise with Uncle. Laurent could have bought out his contract. Taken Nicaise with him to the border. Left him at Aquitart until the whole battle was over. But instead, he had found that his whole trip to the border was accompanied not by the small Nicasie but by the large Damen. 

Laurent could have left him a slave in the place. Leave Damen to whatever fate Uncle had planned for him, but yet he couldn’t do that. He couldn’t leave behind a man he hated for all his life, a stranger he never knew. Laurent had a plan and Damen was never more than a person to kill along the way. Why couldn’t Laurent just leave him behind? But he felt only small prick at the thought to leaving Nicaise to the same fate. Why had he left Nicasie and not left Damen? 

Nicaise was a boy, a boy who didn’t know any better. A boy Laurent had grown fond of over the years even took care of when Uncle mistreated him.

Laurent had promised to save Nicaise. Laurent had told Damen to rot in a cell.

Why with Laurents choice did their fates seem to switch? Using the last of his coin to buy armor for Damen when he should have been used to buy out Nicaise’s contract from his Uncle.

Nicaise head truly was in Laurents' hands and he chose to grab Damens instead.

Laurent had let him down the one time it mattered.

Laurent had lost the game and Nicaise lost his life.

**Author's Note:**

> If I hurt you let me know. It fuels me to write more angst.


End file.
